We are delighted to announce that another National Enterprise Week is due to take place from the 19th to 26th November 2010.

In May earlier this year we provided new business opportunities to over 5,000 businesses in branches across the country under the “Show your Business” initiative.

We also held over 60 events, featuring a range of speakers relevant to the SME community.  This included successful entrepreneurs such as Bobby Kerr (Dragons’ Den), mentors like ex-rugby player Frankie Sheehan and industry experts like Rick Kelley (Facebook).

This year, there will a number of events across the country, and once more we’re inviting local businesses to promote their businesses throughout Bank of Ireland branches nationwide. By promoting your products and services in your local branch you have a great opportunity to reach out to the public and let them know about you, your business and what you are all about. Want to get involved? Drop into your local branch or Click Here

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Social networking has become a mainstream business tool in Ireland with fully 40% of businesses having successfully used social networks to win new business, reveals a new global survey commissioned by global workspace solutions provider Regus.

Testimony to the faith businesses are now putting in the social networking medium is seen in the fact that 26% of Irish businesses are setting aside a proportion of marketing budget specifically for social networking activities. …

Facebook has begun the rollout of its new feature, Facebook Questions. While online Question and Answer services are not exactly new, Facebook’s community of 500 million users adds a new dynamic to the space and could potentially create an exciting opportunity for small businesses.

A Facebook blog post explained the service: “Millions of people ask their friends questions on Facebook every day. What new music should I listen to? Where’s the best sushi place in town? How do I learn to play the piano? With this new application, you can get a broader set of answers and learn valuable information from people knowledgeable on a range of topics.” …